Houston Area 2025 HS Previews: District 21

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After almost eight months of intense action around the country, the club volleyball season came to an end a few weeks ago, with the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship taking place in Dallas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The prospects from Texas won't, however, have a lot of time to breathe and relax after defending their club teams, as, in just over a month, on August 11, the high school volleyball season is about to begin in the Lone Star State, with the first matches of the University Interscholastic Legue (UIL) being held.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As in the past years, Prep Dig Texas will continue to follow the action closely in the Houston area, attending multiple matches every week and providing comprehensive coverage, with analysis, photos and social media posts from each of them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It should be another exciting season, filled with highly-contested matches and strong individual performances, and, before August 11 arrives, we'll preview each district in the Houston area so you know exactly what to expect from each team competing:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">District 21</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Austin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Austin were the second-best team in the district in 2024, completing their campaign with 12 wins and two losses. The Lady Bulldogs earned the right to compete in the Division 2 Playoffs, but couldn't make it past Manvel in the bi-district round, ending their season with 29 victories and 16 defeats. Between outside hitters Bailey Blackburn and Kylie Beer, libero Gabrielle Kennedy and middle Lizzie Edwards, Austin lost four starters to graduation. Junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='534332' first='Tinsley' last='Welker-Brown'] will continue to call the shots and have an even larger role in the team - senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='819906' first='Michelle' last='Uzodinma'] and junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='443035' first='Nina' last='Paulino'] are other players who should get plenty of minutes on the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Bush</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Bush ended last season in seventh place in the district with two wins and 12 losses. The Lady Broncos went to finish their season with eight victories and 29 upsets. Their graduating class following their last campaign included outside hitters Isabella Castillo and Jadesyn Hardeman, libero Trustin Halbert and right side Damiola Falaye. Seniors Jayda Turner (middle), [player_tooltip player_id='844504' first='Jaidyn' last='Ford'] (setter/right side), [player_tooltip player_id='805887' first='Jaylin' last='Johnson'] (outside hitter) and [player_tooltip player_id='798449' first='Dakota' last='Maldonado'] (libero) are expected to lead the team in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Clements</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Clements ranked fourth with eight wins and six losses in 2024 and took the district's last spot in the postseason. The Lady Rangers appeared in the Division 2 Playoffs, but couldn't handle Shadow Creek in the bi-district round and completed their schedule with 29 victories and 13 defeats. Fort Bend Clements will look much different in the upcoming season after outside hitter Maggie Myers and Samantha Vann, middle Samara Parihar, setter Keyun Zhang and libero Emma Levy graduated. Seniors Bella Casal (outside hitter), [player_tooltip player_id='845410' first='Magdalene' last='Duvall'] (middle), Sophie Sparks (libero) and Alice Zhang (setter) will be key returning pieces for the team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Dulles</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Dulles lost all 14 district matches, winning just four sets, and finished at the bottom of the standings, in eighth place, last year. The Lady Vikings secured five victories against non-district opponents, ending the season with five positive results in 32 matches. Having fielded a young team in 2024, Fort Bend Dulles didn't lose any players to graduation ahead of the upcoming season. Senior right side/outside hitter Gabrielle St. Louis, junior middle [player_tooltip player_id='820301' first='Reina' last='Brown'], sophomore outside hitter London Hamilton, junior setter Daisy Nykiel and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='837361' first='Aubrey' last='Krenek'] are the most promising players in the squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Elkins</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Elkins missed the playoffs last season by just one spot - they were fifth in the district with five wins and nine losses. With that, the Lady Knights ended their season with a 14-27 win record. Right side Ope Aladetimi, middle Amber White and outside hitter Jasmine Hyman were the main standouts in the team's graduating class. Senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='845929' first='Hailee' last='Collins'], senior right side [player_tooltip player_id='825034' first='Kori' last='Weaver'], junior libero [player_tooltip player_id='793915' first='Hailey' last='Dela Cruz'] and sophomore outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='834425' first='Nidhi' last='Dronavalli'] will all be back in 2025. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Hightower</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Hightower ranked seventh in the district last year, producing six wins and nine losses. The Lady Hurricanes managed to end their season with a positive record, though, getting 20 wins and suffering 17 defeats. Outside hitters McKenna Henderson and Faviour Agholor, middle Amari Goree and setter Naomi Robinson played for the team for the last time in 2024 as they graduated. Senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='820890' first='Ta'niyah' last='Johnson'], sophomore middle [player_tooltip player_id='819934' first='Monica' last='Daniel'], senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='580002' first='Christine' last='Knowles'] and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='822437' first='Addison' last='Jones'] will be important players for Fort Bend Hightower in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Bend Travis </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Bend Travis had the third-best campaign in the district last season, completing their schedule with 12 wins and two losses. The Lady Tigers didn't last long in the Division 1 Playoffs, losing to Pearland in the bi-district round, and saw their season come to an end with 22 victories and 15 defeats. Fort Bend Travis will have a hard time replacing outside hitters Kate Cardona, Morgan Williams and Jayla Buford, right side Avery Clendenin and setter [player_tooltip player_id='752883' first='Ava' last='Williams'], who all graduated. Senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='580053' first='Moni' last='Anjous'], senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='580063' first='Sarah' last='Ojo'], junior middle [player_tooltip player_id='816392' first='Ellie' last='Day'] and senior outside hitter Khloe Forster should form the core of the team in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ridge Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ridge Point dominated the district again in 2024, producing an undefeated campaign of 14 victories with only four sets dropped. The Lady Panthers went to win a pair of matches in the Division 1 Playoffs before going down to Cinco Ranch in the Regionals Semifinals and ended their season with 36 victories and 12 defeats. Ridge Point graduated a strong class after their last campaign, having outside hitter Kennedi Rogers, Aaliyah Smith and Addison Menefee, right side Emory Harper and libero Madison Flores as the standouts. Outside hitter/right side [player_tooltip player_id='197468' first='Jayden' last='Robinson'] will be the team's main star in 2025 and she should get solid help from senior middlers [player_tooltip player_id='721043' first='Taylor' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='506368' first='Ziya' last='Sista'], senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='579861' first='Madelyn' last='Johnson'] and junior libero [player_tooltip player_id='805231' first='Piper' last='Marquart'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->